


by midnight

by thecherrytrees



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Kissing, New Year's Eve, One Shot, Parties, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-10-18 17:51:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17585519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecherrytrees/pseuds/thecherrytrees
Summary: i want your midnights, but i'll be cleaning up bottles with you on new year's day.(In which it's New Year's Eve, and Jihoon really wants to kiss his girl.)





	by midnight

She sidles up to him between the bubbly drinks passed around and the floaty conversation rising to the top. Her eyes sparkle, and her lips are upturned in a secretive smile, a secret shared only between them, the secret of young lovers.

It’s corny but true: every time he sees her, it’s like he falls all over again. This time is no different, as he swims in the ocean of her eyes and it feels like someone’s reaching between his ribs and squeezing.

“Are you having a good time?” she whispers to him. Jihoon nods. He has to cast his gaze up to meet her eyes. She opted for heels that evening, making her a few inches taller than him.

It’s like she wants to grab his hand. He feels her knuckles brush against his, her fingers grazing, but no definitive touch, nothing beyond uncertainty and testing the waters. He’s no fan of PDA, that’s true, but he also knows they’re in unknown territory. They’ve been friends for so long, and now that they’re together-as a couple-they’re not sure how far to go, where, when. They haven’t even kissed yet.

Suddenly she’s leaning down to whisper in his ear. Her lips brush against the shell. Her fragrance, a mix of her natural sweet smell and her perfume, cloyingly surrounds him. He shivers.

“Come over here?”

Jihoon lets her lead him away from the group of friends to a corner of the house, unused for the party’s purposes and dimly lit and small. Jihoon swallows thickly at the sudden intimacy of the setting, all quiet and away from prying eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she says, smoothing imaginary wrinkles out of her dress and looking bashful. “I didn’t mean to drag you away. I just wanted to see you.”

He smiles. “It’s okay. I wanted to see you, too.”

See each other indeed. They regard one another as they easily slip into casual conversation, their even, unaffected tones betraying the way they unabashedly drink each other in.

“I hope my friends aren’t boring you,” she says, as she memorizes the way Jihoon fills out his coat with his subtle, manly broadness.

“Don’t apologize,” Jihoon chides. “They’re not boring. I really like the music major one. Natalie? Nicky?”

“Nicole.”

“Right. She’s funny. And your sister, and everyone else, too.” A blush crawls up his neck and dusts coral pink across his cheeks as he sneaks a peek at smooth, pale legs, at the tops of dainty feet tucked in black high heels. 

“I’m glad you came. Really, I am. I know parties aren’t really your thing-”

“Yeah, but I like you.” He gives her a wry smile. He’s swimmy headed, as if he’s gonna pass out, but it’s a strangely pleasant feeling. “Who cares what I’m doing, as long as it’s with you?”

She can’t hold back the squeaky sound of surprise she makes under her breath. Her pleased smile is unrestrained and crooked and Jihoon is possessed by the sudden, fiery resolve to make her smile like that every damn day for the rest of their lives.

And then, maybe it’s just him, the air between them is molasses, slow and thick and heavy. His default mode around her is shyness, and uncertainty about boundaries, and taking painstaking care to not overstep them. But he disregards all that, if only for a moment. For once, he just wants to act, to not overthink it. He wants to show her that he loves her.

He takes a step towards her. She glances down at him, eyes hooded, anticipation building in the depths. 

Someone calls her name at the end of the hall.

“It’s almost midnight.” Somehow, Jihoon registers the voice and silhouette as Charlotte, one of many friends he’s been introduced to tonight. Is it just him, or is there a hint of embarrassment in her tone?

Strangely, he’s not shy about having nearly been caught, about their private display of affection almost turning public. The smoldering beneath the surface hasn’t calmed in the least. Screw the party, screw the New Year-he just wants to _kiss her._

She looks at him in a way that communicates, without the words, that she feels the same way. Yet once again she’s leading him away, this time to the living room, where everyone has gathered around the TV.

Someone hands Jihoon a glass of something bubbly. He takes a sip. Champagne.

She falls in easily beside him. The din of everyone excitedly talking at once all around him fades to throbbing background noise. He stares at the New Year’s ball on the screen fixedly, mind a million miles away as his thoughts turn to her. That’s been happening a lot lately. Everything always seems to begin, and end, with her.

He loves her. The realization rolls over him like a freight train. He’s known it, one way or another, since the day they met. But the thought, stark and naked and hanging out in the air between them so clearly, makes him pleasantly dizzy. Likes the bubbles in the glass he holds, he feels effervescent, weightless.

And now, more than ever, as the countdown begins on the screen and all around him, he really wants to kiss her.

_30, 29, 28,_ Jihoon halfheartedly chants along, glancing sidelong at her all the while, logistically, analytically, trying to figure out how this’ll work. He’ll turn and crane his neck up and put his lips on hers. Simple enough, right? It’s not like he’s ever really done this properly with a girl, but it can’t be too hard.

The countdown hits 21, and she grabs his hand. His palms are sweaty and shaking, but he prays she doesn’t notice.

His mother used to tell him to make a wish for the New Year. He remembers as they get closer and closer to it. 

_10._

Happiness, health, _9,_ his family, _8,_ making good music, _7,_ her, _6,_ her, _5,_ her, _4,_ her, her, her, a lifetime with her, all the happiness and summertime and wonderful things of the world belonging to her.

_3, 2, 1, Happy New Year!_

Then she’s leaning down and crushing her lips against his.

A shock rolls through his system. He’s completely frozen at first, her lips moving against his alone. But then desire coils up inside him and cracks like a whip, and he hums, adrenaline and the thrill of being in love and the New Year’s kiss surging through him. He pulls her close, grip tight on her waist, and her hands go on either side of his face as they kiss for the first time. Their chests are pressed together, hearts racing in unison. He kisses her back, a little awkward but no less fervent, the feeling’s all there. He loves her so much, and he pours everything out in the feeling of his lips against hers.

“I love you,” he gasps when she pulls away in a desperate, giggling attempt to breathe, resting her forehead against his. “Happy New Year.”

She presses a kiss against his hairline, and the tender action makes him feel as if he’s flying away, heart about to burst. “I love you, too. Happy New Year, Jihoonie.”

**Author's Note:**

> can y'all believe ljh is one of my ubs and yet i still can't figure out his characterization lmao
> 
> kudos + comments are much appreciated if you enjoyed!! thanks!! <3


End file.
